Linking to the Planning System
The planning system influences development through two main activities: development planning and development control.
Development Planning
The planning system guides the future development and use of land in the long-term public interest. The aim is to ensure that development and changes in land use occur in suitable locations and are sustainable. The statutory development plan for an area currently consists of the structure and local plan.
- The Structure Plan provides a long-term vision as part of an overview of an area’s development requirements. It should identify the overall supply of land to meet the requirements of development, and reflect and identify the priorities for the provision of infrastructure.
- Local Plans set out the detailed policies and specific proposals for development and the use of land that guide day-to-day planning decisions.
The development planning system in Scotland is being updated under the provisions of the The Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 which introduces Strategic Development Plans and Local Development Plans and puts the National Planning Framework on a statutory basis. More information on this new system is available on the Scottish Government's website. Under this new system SEPA is designated as a key agency to be consulted in the preparation of development plans.
The scale of the task in meeting the landfill diversion targets means that a significant level of new infrastructure will be required in the coming years. Development planning plays an important role by planning positively for the necessary waste management infrastructure needed to implement the National Waste Plan (NWP) and National Waste Strategy (NWS). It will help to ensure that there is an integrated network of waste management facilities in each area, which meet the objectives of the local Area Waste Plan (AWP) and of the National Waste Plan.
Development Plans
The Scottish Executive has completed research in 2005 into the extent to which
Scotland's Local Plans meet Area Waste Plan objectives. The report,
Local Plans: Meeting Area Waste Plan objectives, August 2005, is
available on the Executive's website.
Using this report as a baseline, SEPA has written an update of Development Plan policy making for waste management in terms of SEPA's interests (as of June 2007). This update report is available here.
In August 2007 the Scottish Government published Scottish Planning Policy 10 - Planning for Waste Management which updated national waste management planning policy and highlighted the importance that the Government places upon an up to date Development Planning framework which plans proactively for the needs of the waste management industry and delivers the required move away to sustainable waste management in Scotland. SEPA's role as a consultee is set out within this policy.
The following publications help land use planners ensure consistency and clarity when considering development applications and formulating development plan policies for waste management proposals in Scotland .
SEPA has also produced guidance as to the kind of waste management policies we are looking for when Planning Authorities are preparing Development Plans and this is available here
To address the implications of the National and Area Waste Plans, some planning authorities may need to work together to consider the need for strategic waste management facilities of more than local importance. This process has been ongoing during 2005- 2006 in terms of municipal waste where strategic groups of Local Authorities have been considering the options for sharing strategic facilities for the management of residual waste. SEPA has produced a paper on how you may go about the site search process for these facilities. Local Authorities may also need to promote alterations to existing Development Plans where the current Development Plan does not include policies which support the requirements of the Area Waste Plans. The need for Planning Authorities to develop policies which help deliver waste management facilites and also promote sustainable waste management by design is highlighted in Scottish Planning Policy 10.
Planning authorities should also provide policies to encourage developers to:
- Minimise the generation of construction and demolition waste
- Ensure that necessary infrastructure (e.g. recycling points) is built into design of all new development proposals, including for housing, industrial, business and commercial development.
An example of supplementary planning guidance which has been prepared by the Forth Valley Waste Strategy Area Group to cover these points is available on the Stirling Council website – Supplementary Development Advice Note – Managing waste in Housing and Commercial Developments. Another example is on the Dumfries and Galloway Council website where supplementary planning guidance has been published on managing waste within housing and commercial developments and also on siting of waste management facilities.
Some Local Authorities also promote designing for waste management needs through a checklist approach, for example Perth and Kinross Council
Consideration should also be given to the work of Local Biodiversity Action Plan Groups and habitat enhancement at waste management sites particularly in terms of restoration of landfill sites. There may be opportunities, at the planning stage, to consider habitat restoration when new sites are identified. Both NPPG14 Natural Heritage and PAN60 Planning for Natural Heritage are useful sources of information.
